THIS is the debate we should be having about Government

I haven't posted about Massachusetts State Government in awhile (although I was a former employee of the great Commonwealth). This news prompted a post...

Former Speaker of the House, Salvatore diMasi was convicted of corruption charges regarding kick-backs related to a State deal with a software company named Cognos.

The conversation about the role of government for most Americans is not about liberal vs. conservative. It's about government that works on behalf of the public good and government used for the benefit of the most powerful in government. Sal diMasi didn't steal from the taxpayers because he was a Democrat. He abused his position because he was the most powerful person in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The major reforms we need to make now are the ones related to money and the easy purchase of political power in government. We need to have open discussions about the public financing of elections which will allow candidates to be more accountable to their constituents and not beholden to whatever corporate interest or union interest has given the most to their campaign. The most common complaint about public financing is, "I don't want my tax money to help elect a Democrat / a Republican!" But what happens is that Cognos or DuPont, or the big bad Labor UNION funds the Rep or Senator that is most favorable to their position and they could care less whether that candidate is a Democrat or a Republican so long as that newly minted Representative or Senator makes sure that X law is passed giving them a huge tax break or in this case a huge government contract. What about your tax break or your company getting a fair shake at the contract? Well, you'll probably need a lobbyist because Democracy doesn't come free unless we demand it.

We need stricter rules on lobbying and the exchange of money, and we need a lot more transparency when campaign donations are related to upcoming legislation before the chamber. I LOVE what the European Union does, unlimited lobbying hours, no restriction on how often a lobbyist can meet with a representative, but once that institution decides to lobby, they cannot give one - whatever a Euro cent is - cent to that representative.

But if our democracy can just go to the top bidder, then policy will not be made by our citizenry and we will be further and further removed from the process. It's time for legalized bribery to end. It's time to start thinking seriously about major election law reform (including public financing) in states across the country.

Go Bruins!

We won our first Stanley Cup since 1972! Yeah!

I should have taken this pic when the cigar was longer but I was enjoying it too much before I remembered that a post would be fun to celebrate.

Yeah! (yeah) - Peter yeah

Not afraid to be simple

One of my favorite composers, Eric Whitacre has transcribed one of his newer choral pieces "The Seal Lullaby" for Youth Wind Ensemble (Grade 2-3)  The grade level for band music goes up to level 6 as the highest difficulty to play. In an era when many composers of modern music write complex music for complexity's sake, it's nice to know that some composers understand that music at its core is an emotional enterprise, and not an intellectual one.

Enjoy!

Seal Lullaby (Wind Symphony Transcription) by ericwhitacre

Talking about our Weiner...

First of all, let me say that I love Anthony Weiner. He is one of two or three Democrats who is actually proud to be a liberal Democrat, and for that I thank him.

Here's a quick refresher of him castigating House Republicans, who didn't want to help pay for the healthcare of 9/11 first responders who got sick due to all of the toxins that the explosion and collapse of the towers caused. (To be fair, Dems were being complete wimps about not including a Republican "kill pill" amendment to cover 9/11 first responders who were illegal immigrants because it might look bad for the 2010 elections.)



However, Rep. Anthony Weiner did a yucky thing, tweeting various pics of his wiener to random ladays across this fine country of ours.

Should he step down from his Congressional seat? Meh... I guess so. Remember, you only have to step down after cheating on your wife if you're a Democrat. If you're a Republican you love your family and it doesn't matter if you cheated on your wife with a prostitute (Sen. David Vitter R-LA) or your best friend's wife (Sen. John Ensign R-NV) and then paid your best friend with severance pay with taxpayer money as an apology, YOU can stay in office...because you love the American family and must fight for it! (I mean -- that's probably why you cheated on your wife in the first place, because you were so focused on fighting for the American family).

Just to be clear, Senator Ensign didn't resign recently because he was sorry or ashamed of his actions. He stepped down because he was about to face a Senate ethics investigation that uncovered potentially illegal activity during the affair.

Look, I'm fine with having a moral expectation for our Representatives and Senators. We vote for them and they must earn our trust. When they lie about personal matters it is still a violation of that trust. But this expectation should be for everyone in Congress, not just one party. So unless David Vitter resigns, I see no moral argument that Weiner should.

Right now the U.S. Congress is as it should be: A reflection of the United States public in all of its many  flaws and vices, infidelity being chief among them.

Why Repubs will have trouble winning in 2012

Because they're going to derail the only nominee they have capable of winning the whole shebang, because he says totally non-controversial (to me) things like this:

Just sayin...

The Onion hits the nail on the head with this one. I honestly think this is how even the most sane Republicans think about domestic economic affairs.